Willy Loman Definition and Meaning - Dictionary Central Definition Theater The central character in the play Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller . Loman, a failure as a salesman and father,kills himself in a car crash to raise insurance money for his family.The play, a sad commentary on the failure of the American dream, wona Pulitzer Prize. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. Death of a Salesman Actors to excel in the role include Lee J. Cobb (1949), George C.Scott (1975), Dustin Hoffman (1985), and Brian Dennehy (1999). Nearby Definitions of “Willy Loman” FREE Essay on The Central Character 6 Pages 1392 Words Death of a Salesman, written in 1949 by American playwright Arthur Miller, illustrates the destructive compulsion of a man to attain a success far beyond his reach. This is accomplished through the portrayal of Willy Loman, the play's central character. Willy Loman is a pathetic character because he does not hold any possibility of victory.

Unrealistic dreams which are the product of a refusal to honestly acknowledge his abilities deter any triumph that Willy may have the ability to achieve. . Throughout the play Willy Loman surrounds himself with an obvious air of insecurity and confusion. His lack of confidence and uncertainty in what he wants are qualities which prevent him from achieving his dream. Willy shows this weakness while observing himself in a mirror. He focuses completely on what he deems as negative qualities in his personality and physical appearance. In talking with his brother he reveals his insecurity by mentioning that he "feels kind of temporary" (pg. 51). Although Willy has chosen to pursue success as a salesman he demonstrates confusion by continually contradicting that choice. Willy resents the advancements, such as the loss of fresh air and fertile land, increased population and, most significantly, the competition which have been created by the very business community he has opted to be a member of. . It is impractical to assume that Willy Loman can be victorious in a career that he does not seem comfortable in or completely dedicated to. His attempts make him pathetic because they are at the expense of confidence that he may receive from another field of work.

Willy Loman's false pride is another factor that contributes to his pursuit of a prosperity which is unobtainable to him as a salesman. This attribute is apparent in him when his mind journeys back to the day he turned down his brother's offer to battle for riches in the Alaskan timberlands. . Willy's most enthusiastic moments in the play come in directing the rebuilding of the front stoop, teaching his sons to polish the car and in talking with Charley of the ceiling he put up in the living-room. A Review of Arthur Miller's 1949 Novel Death of a Salesman | Kibin A Review of Arthur Miller's 1949 Novel Death of a Salesman Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here Pages: 2 This preview is partially blurred. Sign up to view the full document. Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here End of preview Upgrade to view the full document This is an unformatted preview.

Sign up to view the full document End of preview Upgrade to view the full document Death of a Salesman written in 1949 by American playwright Arthur Miller illustrates the destructive compulsion of a man to attain a success far beyond his reach This is accomplished through the portrayal of Willy Loman the plays central character Willy Loman is a pathetic character because he does not hold any possibility of victory Unrealistic dreams which are the product of a refusal to honestly acknowledge his abilities deter any triumph that Willy may have the ability to achieve Throughout the play Willy Loman surrounds himself with an obvious air of insecurity and confusion His lack of confidence and uncertainty in what he wants are qualities which prevent him from achieving his dream Willy shows this weakness while observing himself in a mirror He focuses completely on what he deems as negative qualities in his personality and physical appearance In talking with his brother he reveals his insecurity by mentioning that he feels kind of temporary pg 51 Although Willy has chosen to pursue success as a salesman he demonstrates confusion by continually contradicting that choice Willy resents the advancements such as the loss of fresh air and fertile land increased population and most significantly the competition which have been created by the very business community he has opted to be a member of It is impr

actical to assume that Willy Loman can be victorious in a career that he does not seem comfortable in or completely dedicated to His attempts make him pathetic because they are at the expense of confidence that he may receive from another field of work Willy Lomans false pride is another factor that contributes to his pursuit of a prosperity which is unobtainable to him as a salesman This attribute is apparent in him when his mind journeys back to the day he turned down his brothers offer to battle for riches in the Alaskan timberlands Willys most enthusiastic moments in the play come in @Kibin is a lifesaver for my essay right now!!

- Sandra Slivka, student @ UC Berkeley Wow, this is the best essay help I've ever received! - Camvu Pham, student @ U of M If I'd known about @Kibin in college, I would have gotten much more sleep - Jen Soust, alumni @ UCLA Willy Loman's Unrealistic Dreams in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller | Kibin Willy Loman's Unrealistic Dreams in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here Pages: 2 This preview is partially blurred. Sign up to view the full document. Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here End of preview Upgrade to view the full document This is an unformatted preview.

Sign up to view the full document End of preview Upgrade to view the full document Death of a Salesman written in 1949 by American playwright Arthur Miller illustrates the destructive compulsion of a man to attain a success far beyond his reach This is accomplished through the portrayal of Willy Loman the plays central character Willy Loman is a pathetic character because he does not hold any possibility of victory Unrealistic dreams that are the product of a refusal to honestly acknowledge his abilities deter any triumph that Willy may have the ability to achieve Throughout the play Willy Loman surrounds himself with an obvious air of insecurity and confusion His lack of confidence and uncertainty in what he wants are qualities which prevent him from achieving his dream Willy shows this weakness while observing himself in a mirror He focuses completely on what he deems as negative qualities in his personality and physical appearance In talking with his brother he reveals his insecurity by mentioning that he feels kind of temporary pg 51 Although Willy has chosen to pursue success as a salesman he demonstrates confusion by continually contradicting that choice Willy resents the advancements such as the loss of fresh air and fertile land increased population and most significantly the competition which have been created by the very business community he has opted to be a member of It is impr

actical to assume that Willy Loman can be victorious in a career that he does not seem comfortable in or completely dedicated to His attempts make him pathetic because they are at the expense of confidence that he may receive from another field of work Willy Lomans false pride is another factor that contributes to his pursuit of prosperity which is unobtainable to him as a salesman This attribute is apparent in him when his mind journeys back to the day he turned down his brothers offer to battle for riches in the Alaskan timberlands Willys most enthusiastic moments in the play come in directing the rebuilding of @Kibin is a lifesaver for my essay right now!!

- Sandra Slivka, student @ UC Berkeley Wow, this is the best essay help I've ever received! - Camvu Pham, student @ U of M If I'd known about @Kibin in college, I would have gotten much more sleep - Jen Soust, alumni @ UCLA Death of a Salesman Hyde Park Opera House, P O Box 9, Hyde Park, Vermont, 05655 (802) 888-4507 Death of a Salesman November 2, 3, 4*, 8, 9, 10 Adults $10.00 Seniors/Students $8.00 *Matinee 1/2 Price First produced in NY in 1949, DOS won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for best play. Its central character, Willy Loman, has become an American classic, the tired, worn-out salesman whose dreams have disintegrated as he struggles to come out on top. Riddled with a sense of self-guilt and failure, he finally decides that a man "can be worth more dead than alive," and makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Willy's tragedy is revealed gradually through his interactions with his wife Linda, sons Happy and Biff, his neighbor, boss, and other associates. This is a remarkable play, extraordinary in its directness, clarity, strength of characters and universal themes. Willy Loman (60's): A man of powerful strivings and the images that possess. A washed up salesman whose life and family have not lived up tohis dreams. Extremely challenging role. Linda Loman (60's): Willy's wife. Loves Willy with all her heart. Calm,kind, accepting. Biff (34 and 16): Older son. Once great football star, now washed up,uncertain. Happy (32 and 14): Tall, powerfully made, sensual. A guiltless playboy. Charley (60's): A large, slow man. Lomans' neighbor. Tries to help Willy. Bernard (16 and 34): Charley's son. Nerd who becomes successful. Woman (40-60): Receptionist, Willy's "other woman." Uncle Ben (late 60's): Stolid, confident.

Willy's older brother who madehis fortune. Howard Wagner (36): Willy's boss, plant owner. Dumps Willy "in the ash can." Jenny (25 plus): Charley's secretary. Harried. Stanley (25-40): Waiter. Idolizes Happy. Smart, efficient, snappy. Miss Forsythe (25-40): Hooker, lavishly dressed. Letta (25-35) Miss Forsythe's friend. Younger, less experienced, more innocent. Pathetic Willy Loman essays 6 Pages 1392 Words Death of a Salesman, written in 1949 by American playwright Arthur Miller, illustrates the destructive compulsion of a man to attain a success far beyond his reach. This is accomplished through the portrayal of Willy Loman, the play's central character. Willy Loman is a pathetic character because he does not hold any possibility of victory. Unrealistic dreams which are the product of a refusal to honestly acknowledge his abilities deter any triumph that Willy may have the ability to achieve. Throughout the play Willy Loman surrounds himself with an obvious air of insecurity and confusion.

His lack of confidence and uncertainty in what he wants are qualities which prevent him from achieving his dream. Willy shows this weakness while observing himself in a mirror. He focuses completely on what he deems as negative qualities in his personality and physical appearance. In talking with his brother he reveals his insecurity by mentioning that he "feels kind of temporary" (pg. 51). Although Willy has chosen to pursue success as a salesman he demonstrates confusion by continually contradicting that choice. Willy resents the advancements, such as the loss of fresh air and fertile land, increased population and, most significantly, the competition which have been created by the very business community he has opted to be a member of. It is impractical to assume that Willy Loman can be victorious in a career that he does not seem comfortable in or completely dedicated to. His attempts make him pathetic because they are at the expense of confidence that he may receive from another field of work. Willy Loman's false pride is another factor that contributes to his pursuit of a prosperity which is unobtainable to him as a salesman. This attribute is apparent in him when his mind journeys back to the day he turned down his brother's offer to battle for riches in the Alaskan timberlands.

Willy's most enthusiastic moments in the play come in d... Death of a Salesman Characters - Willy Loman - Literature Video by Brightstorm Death of a Salesman Characters - Willy Loman Share Transcript I’m sitting here on this little outdoor stage, thinking about how different a play can be, than a novel. A play has really got to be character-driven. Remember, we don’t have an author who can take paragraphs to describe setting or what people are like. So character in plays is crucial. That’s what we’re going to be talking about today. First we’re going to discuss major characters, then minor characters. The last thing we’re going to do, is a little what’s in a name. And see what the significance of some of the names in this play, really is. Including, completely getting rid of this myth about Willy Loman and his last name. So if you’re ready to go, I am too. Let’s get started. So I want to start with the primary characters. This is kind of the who’s who of this play. Let’s start of course with the main, man Willy Loman. He is our protagonist. Remember that’s just a fancy way of saying the main character.

He’s a 61-year old salesman. He’s been demoted, and then he’s been fired. We do find out at the beginning that he’s not working for the same amount that he was earlier. He really tries to provide for his family. This is the struggle he has throughout the entire play. That’s all he really wants to be able to do. He confuses fantasy and reality. As we keep going in the play, there’s more flashbacks, and he’s really going back and forth between memories and present day life. At the end of the play of course, he commits suicide. And he does this with the intention, that his family is going to receive insurance money. In that way, he’s actually going to be able to truly provide for them for the first time in his life. Next, his faithful wife, Linda Loman. She is extremely devoted to him, to the point where she makes excuses for him. Sometimes she’s almost an enabler. She plays peacemaker when Willy is at odds with their sons. Sometimes they get into confrontations, Linda is always the one who gets in between them and wants to stop things and smooth them out. She does focus a lot of money.

She is often reminding Willy about different bills that they have to pay. She’s also pretty naïve. Willy is having an affair, he has been for a while. And they’re definitely signs there that she either doesn’t see, or chooses not to look at. The next Loman is Biff. Biff is 34 years old, and he’s Willy’s favorite son. In high school, he was a really big deal. He was a football star and we see him as the big man on campus. He had a lot of promise. However, in his senior year; he missed graduation by one Math course. He went out to his dad’s hotel, his dad was away on business. Because he was so concerned with this and he wanted his father to talk to his teacher about it. At this point, he discovers the affair. He actually goes to the hotel room and finds Willy and his mistress together. He’s absolutely devastated. It completely shutters him. We find out that he starts stealing. He’s almost a bit of a kleptomaniac. He doesn’t steal to really have things, he does it without really knowing he’s doing it. He gets nervous and he just does it.

He does get caught for it at one point, and he ends up in jail. At this point, when we see him in the present day in the play, he’s really craving a simple tame existence. He doesn’t want any drama anymore. He doesn’t want to try to be the person with promise, or a big star any longer. He wants a plain and simple life that he can enjoy. Now Happy Loman, he’s kind of the forgotten son in Death of the Salesman. He’s the younger one and he’s the second best all the time. He’s very similar to his father. They have a lot of the same ideas, and are kind of in denial about realities of life. He’s definitely a womanizer. This is a way that he competes with his older brother, who usually beats him in everything. Happy is constantly with a parade of women, so that’s one way that he won ups his older brother. Happy also maintains his belief in the American Dream. This is significant because it’s a huge theme in the book of whether the American Dream is really feasible or not for the average Joe. Whereas Biff realizes that maybe it’s not, Happy really stubbornly holds on to the idea that it is.

So those are the four Lomans, the central characters. We’re going to move on next to the secondary ones. Moving on to the secondary characters, there’s actually one who is also a Loman. This is Ben Loman. But I can’t really call him a primary character, because he is dead. He’s Willy’s deceased brother. He appears in Willy’s imagination all the time. We find out through some conversation that he acquired his wealth through the African Diamond mining industry, which is really exotic and interesting. He gives the appearance of someone who has actually accomplished the American Dream. He says he walked into the jungle and he walked out three years later and he was rich. This is like what the American Dream is all about, starting with nothing and going to something great. He is really someone that his brother Willy looks up to and he’s like, "Well, my brother did it, I can do it too." Ben however, is a little bit shady. In one of the flashback scenes, they show his sparring with Biff, then he basically chip shots him. So he’s not the greatest character. So we see him really only through Willy’s eyes.

So I would say we’d have to take some of this with a little bit of a grain of salt. The next character we’re going to talk about, is Charley. Charley is basically like the next door neighbor. He’s a good family friend of Willy and Linda. He really tries to help Willy. We talked about the fact earlier that he loans him money, when he can’t pay his bills. What’s interesting is that, Charley also offers Willy a job, but Willy refuses. He says he has a job and even after he’s been fired from that job, he doesn’t want his friend’s help. Charley and his son are really bookish. And Willy has always been a little mean to them thinking that maybe they’re not the right kind of successful. So it’s interesting that he really doesn’t want help from him in some ways, but in other ways he’s really depending on him. Charley can be seen as a voice of reason. He’s very clear, whereas Willy is really muddled, and things are very fuzzy with him sometimes. What’s interesting is when Willy makes fun of him, he allows it to happen. So we see different aspects of his personality there.

He’s a very, very good friend. Bernard is Charley’s son. He was friends with Biff and Happy when they were all younger. He was like the docky, nerdy friend that you have to hang out with, because your parents are friends with their parents. He tags along all the time with Biff and with Happy. Now as an adult in the present day, he’s a very successful attorney and he’s really a good guy. He is going to have a case with the Supreme Court and he doesn’t even mention it. He remains very, very humble and doesn’t brag about his many, many accomplishments, especially because the Loman’s don’t have anything comparable to share. Howard Wagner is another secondary character. Howard is actually Willy’s boss. He hasn’t been his boss all along. He inherited the business from his father, who Willy worked with for a very, very long time. He’s only 36 years old. Now if we think about the fact that Willy is 61, he’s reporting to this young kid of 36, who’s just a little bit older than his own son, we can see some problems there already.

Especially at one point, I’m going to skip down here, he was actually named by Willy. Willy and his dad, his old boss, were such good friends and Willy helped pick out his name. So he feels like he has a really great tie to him, but he doesn’t. He actually demoted Willy and then fired him within the play. Howard’s really preoccupied with technology. When Willy is really singing his sad song to him and pouring his heart out and telling about all these hard times, Howard is really focused on his new recording device, which is high technology for that time period. He’s not even really listening to what Willy has to say. So we get a big feeling for his personality too. He’s not the nicest or the warmest guys in the world. The last character we’re going to talk about is the woman. We later see her as Miss Francis. But it’s significant to see that when her speaking parts come up, she’s just listed as the woman. In fact she is the other woman. She is Willy’s mistress. We find out that she worked in the Boston business office.

And that’s one of the places that Willy was a lot of the time for business. She doesn’t really seem ashamed of their affair at all. In the scene in which Biff arrives at their hotel room, she doesn’t hide. When she’s asked basically to go hide in the bathroom by Willy, she goes for a little bit and then when one of them makes a joke, she starts laughing from the bathroom. Then she comes out. So we’ve got to wonder a little bit about her conscience. Another interesting thing about the woman, is that Willy is always bringing her silk stockings. This is going to become a really, really big symbol later on. So now we’ve developed a working knowledge of the primary characters, and the secondary characters. I want to point out a little bit more with them, and go a little bit deeper with the significance of some of their names. When we’re talking about significance of names in this play, I really need to share this first thing with you.

A lot of you might have thought this when you were reading, or even if you’re like me, were told by your high school English teacher, that Willy’s last name Loman is significant because you can think of it as ‘Low- man’. kind of like a low man on the totem pole. We would see this as a reflection, see the pretty reflection of Willy’s status. That he is not high up in society, that he’s not the big man on campus. That he’s down here somewhere. So that would be a way to interpret it. Like I said, that’s actually what I learned in high school. However, this is not true. You know how we know it’s not true. Arthur Miller himself commented on this. He said, “In later years, I found it discouraging to observe the confidence with which some commentators on Death of a Salesman smirked at the heavy-handed symbolism of ‘Low-man.’ The name really meant to me was a terror-stricken man calling into the void for help that will never come.” All right Mr.

Dramatic, he’s like no that’s beneath me to do ‘Low-man.’ So I feel like it’s my duty to tell you that that’s not really what he says, it’s supposed to be about. I don’t know. You can make up your own mind on that one, but he was very, very indignant about it. He didn’t like this idea. This was actually from his autobiography that he included this piece of information. He also added a very highbrow reference here. He said that the actual origin of the name Loman comes from a character named Lohmann with a German spelling in the Fritz Lang Film, "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse." Whatever, you can take that with interest if you would like to. I actually linked some information about this movie in the bonus material section. If you want to explore it further, or if you think maybe Arthur Miller was telling the truth, or maybe he was just trying to save face and look even smarter. I don’t know, but that’s important to know about Loman and Low-man. Your English teacher might not know either. So it might be something you want to share in class. Let’s look at the name Happy.

I’m sure that you, like I did, the first time I read this I was like, "Really, his name is Happy really?" Happy is really only happy at surface level. He’s actually very miserable. So it’s definitely an ironic twist that this is the name he’s been given. It’s not a nick-name. It’s really what Linda and Willy decided to name their kid. He lives in the shadow of his older brother and that makes him unhappy. He is kind of a younger version of Willy. Willy is not really happy either. He doesn’t understand why he and his father are not successful. So essentially, he’s not happy at all. He might be happy at surface level, but when we come down to it, he’s really a discouraged individual and miserable living in everybody’s shadow. At one point, he actually denies that Happy is his name, when he’s trying to pick up some of his chicks that he likes to. He says, “That’s my name, Hap. It’s really Harold, but at West Point they called me Happy.” No, not so much. That’s not true, that’s him just trying to deny that his parents gave him that particular monocle.

Let’s look at some more interesting names. What I did was take some of the names of characters from this play and plugged them into one of those websites, where you can find out the origin and the meaning for names. So Benjamin, like Ben, Willy’s brother, means blessed. I thought that was really significant. Because if you think about it, at 18 years old he walked into the jungle and walked out at age 21, a rich millionaire. I would say that he’s been blessed for sure. Especially because he was trying get to Alaska, and he ended up in Africa. So he’s had some things brought upon him that maybe he didn’t deserve, or that he didn’t anticipate getting. Now David, do you remember who David is in this story? I didn’t list him in the characters when we were in that section, because he’s just someone who’s referred to once. David Singleman is actually the first salesman that Willy talks about, other than himself. He’s the one that Willy refers to when we have the whole section about the Death of the Salesman. He died the "death of a salesman" is the quotation that Willy uses. David had so many people come to his funeral.

This is so significant, because that’s what Willy wants. He’s very well-liked, whereas remember Willy says, he’s just 'well-liked'. So David id the salesman he wants to be worldly successful and very popular. So I don’t think it’s really coincidental that his name means beloved. The last name William, Willy. Willy means resolute guardian. Now I don’t think that I could really think of a better way to describe Willy Loman. He wants nothing more than to take care of his family. He’s very stubborn about that, and stubborn to the point where he takes his own life in order to be able to do so. So none of this is really coincidental. It’s very significant and maybe Arthur Miller would yell at me too, if he heard the way that I was interpreting things. But I don’t think this is an accident. So you know how Shakespeare said what’s in a name? I think in Death of a Salesman, there is a lot. So in this episode we talked about what’s in a name. But in case you were busy trying to Google weird celebrity names Calel, Apple, are you kidding me? Let’s see the gist of what you missed.

We talked about major characters like Happy, Biff, Willy, and Linda. Then we talked about some secondary characters like Uncle Ben, not to be confused with the rice guy. The last thing we did is talk about some of the significant of names, like the irony oh Happy’s name. So in our next episode, we’re going to get ready to really dive in deep with things like theme and motif. So take a break if you need to, I’ll be waiting for you here. Tell me when you’re ready to get your feet wet. Arthur Miller: Death of a salesman: text and criticism - Arthur Miller - Google Books Arthur Miller: Death of a salesman: text and criticism User Review - Flag as inappropriate Death of a Salesman: A Still-Relevant Mirror Held Up to the American Dream-Turned-Nightmare By Chris RobideauxIn his 1949 play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller strikes at the heart of the American condition, and explores the themes and subjects of disappointed expectations, the climb of wealth and status-seeking, the demands of "success," the causality of competitive drives, and the effects of all these on the human soul and psyche.

It's nearly impossible to examine this story as the isolated experiences of the main character, Willy Loman, for this is a metonymy or microcosm of the uniquely American--and capitalist--experience, which is a showcasing of the shadow side, or underbelly of the American Dream, and its disruption, or destruction of "happy life," or "real life". We see, also, that as early as the 1940s, the "American Dream" was already quickly traveling south, not unlike the confused wanderings of the central character, who misses out on his home life due to being on the road for decades, and the false promises of chasing the golden carrots of his company hierarchy, and capitalism, from a salesman's idiosyncratic perspective. And sales, as a profession, speaks loudly about failed dreams in this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play. It also examines confused delusions, and how the human spirit is sold along with the endless gadgetry and props of America's materialist obsessions and hypocrises. The inability to be honest with one's self is also a central theme of the story as well.

From this follows the inability to be honest with others--namely one's (Willy Loman's) closest loved ones. The play expertly essays and excoriates the dark underpinnings and ugliness of the shadow side of American life. Willie Loman cheats, lies, lusts, deceives, and blindly rages--and in relation to none moreso than himself. The story certainly strikes a deep nerve in the heart and soul of every American--especially Middle America and the working class. But it must be especially smiting to the middle class. The psychological palate of the story exists somewhere between proletarian grit and bourgeois pride and dutifulness, along with the singularly American sense of responsibility and reward.

The American sense of entitlement, which spawns jealousy and mockery of others who are different, or who have more of a "leg up" in life (evidenced by Willy and Biff's making fun of next door neighbors Charlie and his "worm" of a son Bernard, who we would identify today as an intellectual, or "nerd"), along with violence, vituperation, and scornfulness cast upon the Loman children (who have their parent's ideas of success and failure projected upon them), and finally a long, slow descent into psychosis (Loman talks to himself in a dissociative, delusional manner throughout the play) and ultimately death denote Willie Loman's tragic character arc. A competitive kind of schizophrenia is shown, or implied, in Death of a Salesman to plague those in Middle America struggling to get on top of the heap and outdo the next guy, let alone survive. This idea is personified in Willy's boasting of his sales numbers, and Biff's superimposed dreams of becoming a football star--though his brother Happy proclaims "You're a poet, Biff".

Indeed, America is a society fraught with innumerable self-defeating maladies, with a core of religious-materialist schizophrenia plaguing it. How can the Puritanical and noble ideals of our forefathers jibe with virulent notions of hard-driving (and hard-driven) material success and pretense of social status? Willy Loman goes on at a Bible's length about his car, refrigerator, home and mortgage, etc., but never once displays the natural gratitude and insight necessary to truly value what it is one has in life--whether material, existential, emotional, or otherwise. Another thing the play seems to suggest is that America's real war is a war with itself and its own Contents A Landmark Date in Theatre — Utah Shakespeare Festival From Insights, 1991 February 10, 1949: a landmark date in the history of the American theatre. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller opened on Broadway. It won the Drama Critic Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Later an international success, the play has been translated into nearly every language and produced in nearly every country on the globe. A universality in character, language, and theme make the play continually pertinent and valued.

It ranks with Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, Thornton Wilder's Our Town, and Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie as true "classics" from the arena of American plays. Additionally, each of these plays focuses upon the family and the relationship of parents and children. The central character (protagonist) role of Willy Loman has joined the ranks of major acting challenges. Similar to wanting to play Hamlet or Oedipus, most good actors want to perform Willy Loman. Originally portrayed by the late Lee J. Cobb, the gallery of great actors in the role of Willy Loman include, among others, Thomas Mitchell, Frederic March, Hume Cronyn, George C. Scott, and, most recently, Dustin Hoffman. Remarkably, one of the reasons Willy attracts actors is not the tragic dimension of the role, but the comic dimension. Willy is often laughable in his inconsistencies; in fact, he is so consistently inconsistent, he is comic. That complexity of persona also makes Willy at once likeable and unlikeable. His values are at best, corrupt; yet, his passion for life, family, and his dreams are pure.

He is indeed common, yet somehow magnificent. All great actors will always seek this role as a crowning career challenge. Death of a Salesman successfully weaves time present and time past. Willy Loman naively capitulates to the worship of success, to the substitution of likeable personality in place of solid accomplishment. However, it is a mistake to view the play as social criticism. In fact, it is a great character drama, so well drawn from life that many people, from every walk of life, identify themselves or their relatives with Willy and have been touched by his common, yet grand, passion of recapturing the lost love between him and his eldest son, Biff. Seen as the "tragedy of a common man," as Miller labeled the form of the play, few people can remain unmoved by Willy's fight for his family, carrying on a struggle for sales long after he has lost his skills and his welcome, holding desperately to an impossible dream for his son. At the least, Willy is tragically impassioned as a father. Perhaps he is a suburban King Lear, with sons rather than daughters breaking his heart.

With his reliable, loving, but helpless wife (Linda) by his side, haunted by a ghost in the form of an uncle (Ben), who promised success, and supported by an ordinary, practical neighbor and friend (Charley), Willy engages in an intense conflict with his son and dies in order to realize his hopes for Biff, refusing to concede defeat. Since he gave his life after discovering his own responsibility for Biff's failures, perhaps Willy enables himself, or, as critic John Gassner once noted, Willy's final act is sort of an expiation Willy dies as a father, not as a salesman. Willy is a man who might easily have been dismissed as a cheat and a fool; regardless, he transfigures himself and is endowed with some of the magnitude expected in tragedy, be it "classical" or "modern" ("common"). There may be a bit of Willy in all our fathers, a bit of Biff in all our sons. × SparkNotes: Death of a Salesman: Character List Death of a Salesman Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Willy Loman - An insecure, self-deluded traveling salesman.

Willy believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, but he never achieves it. Nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. When Willy’s illusions begin to fail under the pressing realities of his life, his mental health begins to unravel. The overwhelming tensions caused by this disparity, as well as those caused by the societal imperatives that drive Willy, form the essential conflict of Death of a Salesman. Read an in-depth analysis of Willy Loman. Biff Loman - Willy’s thirty-four-year-old elder son. Biff led a charmed life in high school as a football star with scholarship prospects, good male friends, and fawning female admirers. He failed math, however, and did not have enough credits to graduate. Since then, his kleptomania has gotten him fired from every job that he has held. Biff represents Willy’s vulnerable, poetic, tragic side. He cannot ignore his instincts, which tell him to abandon Willy’s paralyzing dreams and move out West to work with his hands. He ultimately fails to reconcile his life with Willy’s expectations of him. Read an in-depth analysis of Biff Loman.

Linda Loman - Willy’s loyal, loving wife. Linda suffers through Willy’s grandiose dreams and self-delusions. Occasionally, she seems to be taken in by Willy’s self-deluded hopes for future glory and success, but at other times, she seems far more realistic and less fragile than her husband. She has nurtured the family through all of Willy’s misguided attempts at success, and her emotional strength and perseverance support Willy until his collapse. Read an in-depth analysis of Linda Loman. Happy Loman - Willy’s thirty-two-year-old younger son. Happy has lived in Biff’s shadow all of his life, but he compensates by nurturing his relentless sex drive and professional ambition. Happy represents Willy’s sense of self-importance, ambition, and blind servitude to societal expectations. Although he works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store, Happy presents himself as supremely important. Additionally, he practices bad business ethics and sleeps with the girlfriends of his superiors. Read an in-depth analysis of Happy Loman. Charley - Willy’s next-door neighbor. Charley owns a successful business and his son, Bernard, is a wealthy, important lawyer.

Willy is jealous of Charley’s success. Charley gives Willy money to pay his bills, and Willy reveals at one point, choking back tears, that Charley is his only friend. Read an in-depth analysis of Charley. Bernard - Bernard is Charley’s son and an important, successful lawyer. Although Willy used to mock Bernard for studying hard, Bernard always loved Willy’s sons dearly and regarded Biff as a hero. Bernard’s success is difficult for Willy to accept because his own sons’ lives do not measure up. Ben - Willy’s wealthy older brother. Ben has recently died and appears only in Willy’s “daydreams.” Willy regards Ben as a symbol of the success that he so desperately craves for himself and his sons. The Woman - Willy’s mistress when Happy and Biff were in high school. The Woman’s attention and admiration boost Willy’s fragile ego. When Biff catches Willy in his hotel room with The Woman, he loses faith in his father, and his dream of passing math and going to college dies. Howard Wagner - Willy’s boss.

Howard inherited the company from his father, whom Willy regarded as “a masterful man” and “a prince.” Though much younger than Willy, Howard treats Willy with condescension and eventually fires him, despite Willy’s wounded assertions that he named Howard at his birth. Stanley - A waiter at Frank’s Chop House. Stanley and Happy seem to be friends, or at least acquaintances, and they banter about and ogle Miss Forsythe together before Biff and Willy arrive at the restaurant. Miss Forsythe and Letta - Two young women whom Happy and Biff meet at Frank’s Chop House. It seems likely that Miss Forsythe and Letta are prostitutes, judging from Happy’s repeated comments about their moral character and the fact that they are “on call.” Jenny - Charley’s secretary.

Question: Willy Loman is the central character in which 1949 play?
Answer: Death of a Salesman